


Switchblades and Vending Machines

by Glenraven



Series: See You in the Streets [1]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Attraction, Banter, Canon-Typical Violence, Humor (I hope), Izaya ends up in an odd position, Language, M/M, Self-Denial, Shiki Haruya (mentioned), Taunting, enemies to being confused
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 19:36:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11675685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glenraven/pseuds/Glenraven
Summary: Izaya ran, Shizuo gave chase. It had been that way since the first day they met back in high school. Over the years, it had become an unalterable pattern; Shizuo’s monstrous strength pitted against Izaya’s craftiness and agility.It's a regular chase through Ikebukuro... until Izaya slips up and has to improvise. Predicting Shizu-chan's reactions is hard, after all.





	Switchblades and Vending Machines

**Author's Note:**

> Hello :) This is my first story on this site - reading the amazing Durarara!! fanfiction here inspired me to write my first fanfic in ten years (I've been writing non-fandom related stuff in the meantime). I love the dynamics between Izaya and Shizuo so much that I just had to give it a try myself. I had a lot of fun writing this, so I hope someone else will enjoy reading it too.

Orihara Izaya’s feet were pounding the pavement, breath rasping hard in his throat. He tightened his hold on his switchblade as he narrowly swished around a corner off Sunshine 60 street. The side street was deserted, and he knew that with a few turns, he could lead the monster away from the crowds that were so often forced to witness their destructive battles. He usually revelled in the attention, it made the adrenaline in his veins run all the sweeter, but today, he wanted the beast all to himself.

“Izaaayaaaaa-kuuun!!” Shizuo’s enraged roar shot excitement through Izaya as he dared to quickly glance over his shoulder. Shizu-chan was barely able to round the next corner as he barreled out of the alley, his ever-present bartender’s uniform already rumpled, bowtie askew. Somehow, he had managed to squeeze himself through the passage between buildings while carrying a vending machine above his head. He threw the machine at Izaya with a grunt, coins clattering and bottles clanking against each other in a ruckus. It was a predictable attack which Izaya, just as predictably, dodged and countered with a taunt. Izaya ran, Shizuo gave chase. It had been that way since the first day they met back in high school. Over the years, it had become an unalterable pattern; Shizuo’s monstrous strength pitted against Izaya’s craftiness and agility.

Izaya ran down another alley, hopping up on a dumpster in the shadow between buildings and using it to jump higher and scale the wall of what otherwise would have been a dead-end.  
“Ne ne, Shizu-chan, you’re not tired already, are you?”  
“Shut up, don’t call me that!” Shizuo’s deceptively lean body was shaking with rage, face scrunched up in mask of fury. He stalked down the alley and picked up the dumpster, lifting it above his head with no visible effort, metal denting under the press of his fingers.  
Izaya backflipped off the wall to the other side, landing on his feet graceful as a cat. He cackled as he skipped backwards down the street. “Come and make me, Shi-zu-chaaan.”  
He heard the dumpster crash to the ground, followed by Shizuo simply punching through the wall.

“Oops.” Izaya turned on his heel and broke into another sprint. He had planned to eventually fight Shizuo head-on for a bit, get in a few slashes, ruin the other’s day, then weasel away before the brute could finish him off. However, he wondered whether it might be better to dash away now, lead the monster on a merry chase halfway to Shinjuku, then lose him. Shizu-chan would be so pissed, having to walk all the way back to Ikebukuro and his job - provided he still had one when he got back. Wouldn’t it be fun if Shizu-chan got fired again.

The moment of reverie cost him. Something heavy collided with his back, the wind was knocked out of him. He dropped and rolled on instinct, but felt his ankle twist when he pushed himself up. He grit his teeth. No time to check what hit him. He hobbled further along, ankle screaming with every step, back aching, the alley stretching on impossibly long ahead of him. 

Seeking out Shizu-chan was pointless if he couldn’t move properly. The beast would crush him. For the first time that day, he felt a sliver of real fear. There was no one around who could have interfered in their fight. Trapped by his more fragile body’s limitations, Izaya’s preferred options - running until he felt like ditching his pursuer, and fighting him from something of a distance - were no longer available. Confronting the riled up monster was all he had left. Izaya shifted his weight to his good leg and turned around, hip cocked, sneer and knife at the ready. Behind the contemptuous veneer, his heart was racing. His success-rate in their close-range fights was spotty.

“Done running, shitty flea?” Shizuo approached, dragging a ‘no parking’ sign behind him.  
“What can I say? I just couldn’t bear to watch you ruin any more of Ikebukuro’s infrastructure.” Izaya did his best to make his tone of voice as put-upon and nasally-annoying as possible. He was rewarded for his effort by a vein twitching on Shizuo’s forehead.  
“Yeah? Well who’s fault is it?”  
Izaya kept the knife pointed at Shizuo and draped his other hand over his heart in mock-hurt. “What are you insinuating Shizu-chan! How is it my fault that you have no self-control?” He smirked. “Oh wait. Do you even know what ‘insinuating’ means?”  
With another roar, Shizuo swung the street sign like a baseball bat. Izaya managed to duck below it by a hair, ignoring his ankle as it protested the movement. What a bother, this could have been so much fun. Shizu-chan was all fired up, displaying his monstrosity in all its glory.

Izaya felt alive, the pain from his ankle just one more sensation among the many coursing through his body. Shizuo, too, was grinning viciously, bleached hair in disarray and shirt sleeves pushed up to his elbows.  
This, right here, was why Izaya just couldn’t help himself, why he kept coming all the way from his home in Shinjuku to Ikebukuro every other week. The trips were work-related, naturally, an informant had to stay on top of things after all, yet there was no good reason to seek out Shizuo and antagonize him, was there? Except it was _fun_. It was _exciting_ , watching the beast give in to its primitive urges.

Meanwhile, Shizuo had dropped the street sign in favor of his own strength. Izaya dodged the first two punches in spite of his ankle, ducking in and slashing across Shizuo’s chest before dancing away on his good foot and using the alley wall for support. First blood is mine, he thought, satisfaction tugging on the corners of his lips.

“That shirt was a present from Kasuka,” Shizuo rumbled as he inspected the damage, trembling with rage, an ill-boding grin drawing his lips back from his teeth as his focus reverted to Izaya.  
“So sorry to ruin your brother’s present, Shizu-chan,” Izaya mocked. “I guess that’s what happens when you’ve got no skills and no money, so that your younger sibling has to provide basic things such as clothing out of pity.” Izaya was aware that he was entering very dangerous waters, but he couldn’t stop the words as they fell from his lips, as he knew just which buttons to push.

Shizuo was on him in a second, slamming his shoulder into the wall with one painfully forceful hand and drawing back the other in a fist.  
“You’re gonna pay for this, flea.” The glint in his eyes was murderous, pupils blown so they swallowed the honey-brown of his irises.  
Izaya chuckled and leaned in. “Ah yeah? Make me, Shizu-chan. Before you bleed out on the pavement, that is.” He momentarily pressed the blade of his knife harder into the soft skin of Shizuo’s neck to bring his point across, and to make the other aware of its presence in the first place.  
“Think you can knock my teeth out before I slit your throat, Shizu-chan?” he crooned. “You sure about that?” Izaya gave his nastiest grin, tilting his head to somehow look down his nose at Shizuo, despite the other being taller than him.  
Shizuo growled but backed off out of range, while Izaya drew himself up into a steadier position against the wall, breathing hard.

“Why can’t you just stay the fuck out of Ikebukuro, flea?” With his torn and bloody shirt, a button missing from his black vest, the blond looked exasperated and almost pitiful.

“But Shizu-chan, I’m not even doing anything, why can’t you just leave me be?”  
Shizuo laughed, the sound brittle and lacking amusement. “You’re always plotting and scheming to ruin somebody’s life. You don’t even know how to ‘not do anything’. Besides, you stink.” He wrinkled his nose. “I can smell you’re in town long before I can even see you.”  
Izaya scoffed in disgust. “Relying on your sense of smell above all? You really are a beast.”

“Careful, flea. I wouldn’t overdo it today. Don’t think I’ll cut you any slack just because you’ve got a bad leg.” Shizuo cracked his knuckles and shifted back into a fighting stance.  
Izaya’s fingers tensed on the knife. He forced himself to put more weight on his bad foot and leave the stability of the wall. He wouldn’t go down without a fight.  
“Don’t flatter yourself, protozoan. It takes more than a botched landing to take me out.” His smile was smug as ever. “Give it your best shot, Shizu-chan. You’ve vowed to kill me since high school. Time to put your money where your mouth is.”

Shizuo gave a rough laugh, then tried to tackle Izaya again. The move was not hard to evade. Izaya pushed off to the side, intending to side-step Shizuo and slash him on a turn. His ankle was not on board with this plan. He hit the ground hard, biting off a scream. Fucking ankle. Stupid, stupid body. He tried to roll away, but the pressure of Shizuo’s fingers on his throat stilled him. Combined with a weight settling on him, it was hard to even breathe. The monster’s hips pinned him to the concrete, any attempt at bucking him off proved to be futile. There was no way to best Shizu-chan when it came to raw strength. Izaya’s knife-hand was pressed down to the ground, the bones in his wrists grinding together painfully until he was forced to drop the weapon. He turned his head, fear fluttering in his stomach as he met the beast’s eyes.

Shizuo was staring at him intently, or rather, he was staring at his hand on Izaya’s throat, where bruises would soon mark the shape of his fingers. Shaggy blond strands shadowed his expression. Izaya’s breath quickened at having the other so close, fear mixing with anticipation and something else he couldn’t name. He felt lightheaded, realized that he was probably hyperventilating as Shizuo loosely strangled him.  
Why wasn’t the beast bearing down properly? He must be exerting incredible control to keep his grip comparatively light. What was the monster waiting for?!  
“Scared, Shizu-chan?” Izaya rasped, unable to take the suspense any longer and determined to at least have the last word. “Scared to prove to the world just how big of a monster you are?”  
“Shut up,” Shizuo growled, jaw tensing, and flexed his fingers for a moment. Izaya’s vision briefly faded to black before the pressure eased, leaving him coughing.  
Shizuo released him and sat back, choosing instead to pin both of Izaya’s arms with his own. Izaya took a few deep breaths now that his chest and throat weren’t being smothered. Confusion roiled in him. Why hadn’t the beast killed him? And why did he feel strangely… disappointed?  
“What are you doing, monster?” he asked, voice rough and not quite hitting the right tone for his usual taunts.  
“I don’t know.” Shizuo growled. “I didn’t plan this far ahead, okay?”

Izaya grinned. “Oh Shizu-chan. If you don’t want to kill me after all despite all your promises over the years, whatever are you gonna do to me?” If he could confuse the protozoan, maybe there was still a way to get out of this situation. Shizuo was breathing hard. Perhaps the adrenaline in his body was waning, and all that running and vending machine lifting was catching up to him.  
“Why do you make me chase you like this, flea?”  
A crazy idea shot through Izaya’s mind. Before he could rethink it and lose his nerve, he purred. “Ne, Shizu-chan, why don’t you come a little closer? I’ll tell you the secret.”  
“Why? You can tell me like this. Or don’t tell me. I don’t care.” Experience, Izaya knew, had taught Shizuo to be suspicious. After all, even wild beasts can learn from that.  
Izaya pouted. “Come on, Shizu-chan. You’ve already got me completely at your mercy. Indulge me in this small matter?”  
Shizuo rolled his eyes and leaned down, bringing his face closer to Izaya’s. Really, it seemed like the bartender had no idea what to do in a situation where they weren’t actively trying to kill one another. “So what is it?” Shizuo said, looking somewhat uncomfortable now they were nearly nose to nose.

Izaya hesitated for a second before he thought ‘fuck it’ and lifted his head, bringing their lips together. Shizuo’s body went rigid, then slack, as a weird noise escaped the back of his throat. Izaya’s heart was battering his ribcage, his fingertips were going numb, but he felt Shizuo’s grip on his wrists loosen. He deepened the kiss for a moment, dragging his teeth over Shizuo’s bottom lip. He refused to think about the way the monster’s lips felt, the way his own action sent heat down his spine. Shizuo’s eyes fluttered closed.  
Izaya twisted and bucked his hips, gasping at the contact - clearly, he hadn’t thought this through properly - but succeeded at flipping Shizuo over. Trembling with confusion, he rose to his feet and started to run-limp as quickly as he could. If he could just turn at a few alleys, or get to a more populated area and lose Shizu-chan in the crowd…  
He could think about how his own actions had affected him later. Seriously, what the fuck was wrong with him, growing half hard because of a beast like Shizu-chan?!

“And where do you think you’re going?” a voice growled in his ear.  
Izaya gasped as strong arms enveloped him, pinning his elbows to his sides and drawing him back against a warm, unyielding body. He avoided to acknowledge what was pressing into his back. Shizu-chan’s phone, surely.  
“Back to Shinjuku, Shizu-chan, isn’t it obvious?” Izaya’s voice sounded thin and strained, his breath was still going way too fast. Must be the pain from his ankle. “You want me to get the fuck out of Ikebukuro, ne Shizu-chan? So why not just let me?” Right. There was still a way to get out of this situation. There always was. He just had to spin it properly.

Shizuo paused, his breath ruffling the hair at the back of Izaya’s neck and making him shudder.  
“You can’t walk back to Shinjuku like this,” Shizuo said, sounding a lot calmer than before. “And obviously I can’t trust you. Without supervision, you’ll just do whatever you want.”  
“I can take a cab,” Izaya suggested. “Some of us have money to spare, you know.”  
Shizuo’s arms tightened. “No. If anyone sees you weak like this, word will spread through the color gangs like wildfire.” Izaya bristled at being called weak, but Shizuo went on before he could get a word in. “There are plenty of people who hate you in this town. Some of them are bound to try something while you can’t jump around like the flea you are. And I can’t let that happen.”  
Izaya’s brow furrowed. “Why not?”  
Shizuo shifted his grip, grabbing Izaya behind his knees and lifting him up to hold him in his arms. Izaya yelped at the change of position, struggling ineffectively and grabbing the ripped front of Shizuo’s shirt. “Shizu-chan what the fuck?!”  
“No one is allowed to kill you but me. And it’s no good if you’re not fighting back.” Shizuo’s gaze was fierce and dark as he started walking, and if Izaya’s stomach fluttered, this was surely an aftereffect from being picked up and manhandled so effortlessly.  
“My my, Shizu-chan, so possessive!” he purred, signature smirk firmly in place. “People could get the wrong idea, especially if you’re carrying me like this.”  
Shizuo looked surprised for a moment and stopped, as if he hadn’t paid much attention to their position. “Oh? Well, I don’t care.”

Izaya huffed and leaned back in the other’s arms, though he didn’t relax completely. He needed a moment to order his thoughts. They were still walking through back streets, it wasn’t like anyone could see them. If felt kind of nice, to be carried and not have to put weight on his now throbbing ankle. Even if it was the beast. There was something to be said about manipulating his enemy into carrying him, like a prince in a litter.

“Where are you taking me, Shizu-chan?” he asked after a while.  
“Back to Shinjuku, like you said.” Shizuo’s voice sounded calm, if a bit absent-minded. If Izaya didn’t know better, he’d say the monster was deep in thought. Shizuo’s chest was warm beneath his shirt, much warmer than Izaya’s, and he had to resist the urge to lean closer. After all, Shizu-chan smelled of cigarettes, which was disgusting.

Izaya looked ahead and could see the alley mound into the main road, all twinkling lights and neon advertising. “Oy Shizu-chan. Put me down.”  
“Hah?” Shizuo’s jaw tensed in irritation. “Stupid flea, you know you can’t walk!”  
Izaya rolled his eyes. “Obviously. But I also don’t want to be carried like a damsel in distress.” It hadn’t felt so bad, but he’d rather bite off his tongue than admit that. “At least give me a piggy-back ride or whatever.”  
Shizuo grinned evilly. “Oh? Are you embarrassed or something, flea?”  
Izaya sneered. “As if. It would simply be more comfortable.”  
Shizuo’s grin widened, his teeth bright in the dark of the alley. “Well, if it’s just that. As long as you’re not embarrassed, I like you quite well where I’ve got you. Who’d want a shady guy like you on his unprotected back, Izaya-kun?”  
Izaya drew his grin into something more feral. “Ah, you just know me too well, Shizu-chan.” He let go of the other’s shirtfront to straighten his bow tie, which was miraculously still intact. Naturally, he made sure to drag his nail along the soft skin of the monster’s throat, leaving a thin line of blood. Shizuo gulped, Izaya gloated.

They joined the crowds on the main road, attracting a few curious looks. Izaya subtly turned his head towards Shizuo’s chest, while the fake blond did not seem bothered. Shizuo carried him easily, as if he weighed nothing. Izaya felt strangely floaty, it was hard to tell how much time passed.  
“Oy, flea?”  
“Huh?” Izaya hummed, intrigued by the way Shizuo’s voice rumbled through his chest beneath Izaya’s ear.  
“What was that all about?”  
“What was what all about, Shizu-chan?” Izaya kept his eyes closed.  
Shizuo’s fingers flexed, a muscle ticked along his jaw. “Why’d ya kiss me like that, shitty fleabag?”  
Izaya shrugged like it was nothing. “It was the only thing I could think of to surprise and shock you into letting me go.” He leaned back, baring his throat and catching Shizuo’s eyes. “Why? Did you think I was into you? Do you fantasize about me at night, Shizu-chan?” He cackled. “As if I’d let a monster like you into my pants.”

Shizuo’s fingers at his shoulder turned to bruising force, he could hear him grind his teeth, and Izaya relished it, enjoyed how easily he could expose the monster behind Shizuo’s thin veneer of illusions like kindness or humanity. There was simply no one more fun to play with than Shizu-chan.  
Shizuo took a deep breath, and just like that, his anger dissipated. It was replaced with a smirk. “Please, Izaya-kun. I admit I was surprised. But you’re quite conceited, thinking one semi-skilled kiss is all it takes to get into my pants.” He chuckled. “Besides, I’m not into taking yakuza leftovers to bed.”  
Izaya punched Shizuo’s chest, but the monster just laughed harder. “I am not- I did not-” Izaya sputtered, enraged at having his professionality questioned. Was that what the protozoan thought? That he had to sell his body for information to gain favors with the Awakusu-Kai? Gross. Not to mention pathetic. “As if I’d ever have to resort to that kind of thing with Shiki-san!”  
Shizuo’s amusement still rumbled through his chest as he shifted Izaya’s weight onto one arm and used his free hand to pet his hair, as if calming an irate housecat.  
“Calm down, flea, I was just kidding. It’s fun, riling you up. I can see why you enjoy doing it to other people so much.”  
“Shut up, stupid monster.”

Shizuo sighed and leaned his head back, looking up. “Well, here we are.”  
Izaya turned his head and recognized his high-rise apartment building. “You know where I live?” he asked dumbly. He’d assumed Shizuo would drop him somewhere near Shinjuku station.  
Shizuo snorted. “I’m not _that_ much of an idiot, shitty flea. Don’t think you’re the only one who can figure stuff out.”  
Izaya felt vaguely discomforted and shifted in Shizuo’s arms. “Well? Gonna let me go now? Or do you insist on being a gentleman and bringing me to my doorstep?”  
Shizuo dropped his legs, grabbing the back of his fur-lined jacket instead and setting him carefully on his feet. Izaya suppressed a wince.

“Put some ice on that, flea. And eat a proper meal, you weigh no more than a kitten. Next time I see you, I want you at your best. So that I can hunt you down without feeling like you’re letting me win.”  
Izaya smirked. “You can bet on that, Shizu-chan. You’ll curse yourself for letting me go, because you sure as hell won’t catch me again.”  
Shizuo lit a cigarette, puffing smoke at the smaller man. “I’m sure I’ll see around, Izaya-kun. Try not to feel too lonely when you dream of me pinning you down tonight.” He turned on his heel and started walking back the way he’d come.  
Izaya laughed at his retreating form. “ _You_ try not to feel too bad when you think of how easily I flipped you over, monster!”  
Shizuo simply lifted a hand in goodbye without turning around or displaying any sign of anger, which annoyed Izaya more than he wanted to admit.

As Izaya carefully walked through the building’s lobby to the elevator, from the elevator to his apartment door, he became aware of every bruise he’d sustained in the fight. But what stood out to him most was how soft and warm Shizuo’s lips had been, and how gentle the hands that had carried him home.

**Author's Note:**

> I've started writing a sequel to this that will most likely get an M rating... so if you'd be interested in reading more, please let me know via kudos or a comment :) I tried to keep Shizuo and Izaya in character, but Izaya might be slightly OOC... sorry if that bothers anyone. Anyway, any comment is welcome really, criticism included.


End file.
